A 'Fine' Valentine
by Lady Jayde Une
Summary: It's Coulson & May's first Valentine's Day together. May's not doing too well and Coulson made plans, but don't worry, everything's 'fine'. Follows on from my earlier fics: May Hates Dressing Up For Halloween, Another Chance of Life, New Years Eve At The Playground. Please Read & Review but importantly, Enjoy!


It was 05:15 at The Playground and the only two people awake at this time we're Agents May and Skye.

They stood side by side, going through the Tai-Chi forms May had been practicing for years. Each movement slow, deliberate and precise.

May was pleased with how quickly Skye was learning the movements along with her breathing exercises. It had been just over a year since May had taken over as Skye's S.O. and they trusted each other implicitly. May was quietly thrilled at how much respect, trust and adoration Skye showed toward her, they had become so close one would truly believe they were family.

By 06:00 they we're nearing the end of their kata when May started to feel hot and queasy. She ignored the feeling as best she could for a few minutes and carried on regardless. Her vision was slowly blacking out from the edges, leaving her with tunnel vision. She tried to keep calm and took deeper breathes in order to get more oxygen in her blood to fight the fainting spell she could feel creeping up on her.

Melinda could tell by the way Skye was looking at her, that her change in breathing had caught her attention and the young Agent appeared worried. May felt weak and shaky, she bowed her head slightly in order to try and get more blood to her head.

"May? Are you Ok? Do you want to take a break?" Skye asked, not stopping her kata. Her Mentor didn't get a chance to answer with a snarky comment before she collapsed. "Oh my God! May!" Skye dropped to her knees besides Melinda.

Skye stifled the panic she was feeling. She needed to keep calm with 'May-like' focus and control. 'May wouldn't panic at a time like this…!'

Skye checked May over and was satisfied that she had simply fainted, she lay May in the recovery position and wiped the sweat pouring off May's forehead. In the year that Skye had been training with May, she'd not seen her sweat whilst they'd been doing Tai-Chi. 'Oh God, who do I call first? Simmons or AC?' She didn't get a chance to ponder for long when she saw Coulson walk past the open gym door. "AC!"

Coulson turned his head immediately and saw Skye facing him and kneeling over an unconscious Melinda. Barely a second passed before he reached the pair on the gym mats. "What happened?!" Coulson checked May's vitals. May started to regain consciousness and tried to get up from the floor. "Don't move, May." Coulson said as he brushed her hair off her sweat soaked forehead.

"I don't know, we were doing our Tai-Chi routine and she wasn't breathing right, then she collapsed!"

Coulson didn't waste any time, he scooped up her tiny frame and rushed to the lab shouting for Simmons.

"Damn it, Phil. I'm fine." May tried to protest, yet she didn't have the heart to wrestle his grip off her.

Later…

"This is ridiculous, I feel fine." May huffed from her hospital bed.

"It's just a precaution, May." Phil said from his position on the side of May's bed.

"No, it's stupid and I want to leave." May countered as she attempted to throw the thin white sheet off, but she was hindered somewhat by Coulson sitting on the gurney beside her and being in the way.

"Please May, it's just for 24 hours, they said want to make sure you and the baby are alright." Skye pleaded to her S.O.

May looked between Coulson and Skye and relented. "Fine." She huffed, crossing her arms. She knew it was for the best to get some rest and be monitored for a few hours, but 24 hours seemed excessive and she was going to be so bored! Not to mention she had plans with Phil tonight, it was Valentines Day after all.

Skye smiled, "Cool! Simmons should still be outside after she agreed to give us a few minutes, I'll go and get her."

May looked toward Coulson pointedly, "We had plans tonight."

"Don't worry, I'll sort something out." Coulson rubbed May's slightly rounding tummy and kissed her on the forehead as he went to stand up.

"May, how are you feeling?" Jemma asked as she entered the medical room.

"I keep telling everyone: I'm fine!" May asserted. She saw Coulson whisper 'I love you' before he left the room to allow her consultation to continue.

Simmons tried again after Coulson left the room, "How are you really feeling?"

May was stumped. She'd never really put much thought into how she felt, there was no place for it in S.H.I.E.L.D. She was always concerned with the thoughts and feelings of others, she never consider how she might be feeling. Since Bahrain her emotional range had shrank drastically as she'd tried to remove feelings from her being, now she'd feel 'hungry', 'thirsty', 'sad', 'not angry', 'angry', 'very angry' or 'tired', etc.

Even when she was having a hard time, she'd just soldier on and put any of her issues on the back-burner. Everything's changed now after creating their rag-tag team, being in a relationship with Phil as well as the bond she now shared with Skye, she might as well give it a go.

"Ermm, well…I've been feeling really tired and light-headed." May sighed, "I ache all over, I feel nauseous sometimes, but not all the time. Isn't this completely normal in a pregnancy, Simmons?"

Jemma smiled, "Yes, it's completely normal in the first trimester, but the normal thing to do, when you feel like that, is to rest. You haven't been resting."

May felt a bit ashamed, she hadn't been acknowledging the changes her body was going through, and the worst could happen if she wasn't careful.

"Look May, from what I can tell, you and your baby are perfectly fine, but just be more mindful about the strain you're putting on your body, ok?"

May took a few moments to let the words sink in, "Ok."

She needed to put less pressure on her body since it was already under some degree of stress being pregnant, let alone at her age. This was another reminder that she could no longer use her discipline and willpower to ignore what her body is telling her. She was probably going to have to have a conversation with Phil on how her role within S.H.I.E.L.D. might have to change a little earlier than she'd anticipated.

Jemma continued, "If it's any consolation, you should start to feel better in the next few weeks, when you start the second trimester."

May had used this opportunity to get some much needed sleep. The sleep she was getting at the moment wasn't the best quality, it was too light and the slightest noise or movement in bed would wake her. May's body seemed to be in a state of hyper-awareness, then she wasn't readily able to get back to sleep again and it was grating on her nerves, which couldn't be helping her.

She'd managed to sleep through the rest of the day, waking up from a much deeper sleep at around 20:00 feeling well rested and much better. She knew she really needed that sleep, she'd contemplated getting out of the bed before she had the chance to open her eyes.

When she finally opened her eyes she could see red heart shaped foil balloons attached to her bed and dotted haphazardly around the room. There were also flowers and a single lit candle on the roll-away table, set off to the side of her bed. She was in shock, she hadn't anticipated this when Phil said he'd 'sort something out'. She could see that he'd gone through a lot of trouble for her. Moments later she saw him open the door with his backside on the handle and pushed the door with his back as he walked in backwards.

He hadn't noticed that she was awake yet, she could see he was carrying 2 plates of food in his hands, she admired his arms, with his shirt sleeves rolled up.

"Hey!" Coulson said when he turned around and saw her sitting up.

"Hey, yourself." She looked around some more, she saw he'd bathed the room in a red tinge, dimming the bright, sterile hospital lighting by switching the ceiling lights off and throwing a piece of miscellaneous red material over 2 of the bed side lamps. She had no idea where the material was from, but at this time she really didn't care. Her only real concern right now was her unborn child and Phil Coulson. Sure, the rest of the team factored into the equation but didn't rank as high as the three of them occupying the hospital room right now.

"You couldn't make it to our romantic Valentines dinner, so our romantic dinner comes to you." Coulson set the 2 plates on the roll-away bedside table and wheeled it over to her bed, sitting down by her legs. "I made lasagna, hope you like it." He then poured some red liquid into their glasses. She looked at him, he read the silent query in her features clearly. "Oh it's not wine, no! It's just grape juice. It wouldn't be fair for me to have wine and you not. I just wanted to have the illusion of wine."

'He's such an adorable goof, I hope our baby will take after him.' She smiled and took her cutlery, she couldn't wait to tuck-in, she was starving! "It looks delicious, thank you."

Coulson smiled back as they both started to eat, "How are you feeling, Melinda—?"

"I'm fine."  
"—and don't say 'Fine'…!" He said at the same time as her reply.

Coulson looked her right in the eye, he know that was her standard response to everything, he waited a few more seconds before pushing again for a proper response.

May sighed, "I'm tired, really tired. I feel sick, I'm emotionally all over the place," she sighed again, May wasn't used to expressing herself so openly, even to Phil, especially when it concerned her wellbeing. She would say everything was fine, because she would make sure it was fine. But this was bigger than she was, and she was finding it difficult to always be the Team's support structure, she needed support too.

Coulson could see she was getting emotional now, probably thinking about how her responsibility within the team will reduce. He knew she wouldn't like that, he also knew that she was a control freak at heart, it had been one of the main reasons why she became a pilot, she didn't really trust anyone to fly her anywhere. He moved the table out the way when they'd finished eating and embraced her. "Shhh, I know you're not comfortable with this May and it's really something you're not used to, but you can do this." He pulled back to look her in the eye and his hands now on her shoulders, "That means you don't have to carry the weight of the world alone, because I'm here to help you the way you selflessly help me everyday. It's just a few months of handing the reigns over to the rest of the team and take a bit more time out for yourself and our baby, ok?"

May snorted, it seemed ridiculous that Coulson had to try and reason with her to look after herself. "Ok, I'll do it."

He smiled back at her, eyes twinkling, "Good." Coulson then climbed up the bed slightly to lay beside her. May wrapped herself up beside him after he'd turned the lights off, they then spoke softly about their plans during the rest of her pregnancy between kisses as they cuddled. His kisses halted when he whispered, "You know I love you, right?" stroking her cheek.

May nodded, looking into Phil's steel blue eyes, before glancing at his lips, the same lips that do magical things to her. She traced his lips with her index finger, enjoying the sensation as he kissed it. "I love you too." May closed the gap between them again and began kissing down his jawline and neck.

"May…! We can't have sex in here, anyone could walk in…!" Phil said as he raised her head to see her playful expression.

"But it's our first Valentines together! I had 'Plans' for tonight, too!" She could tell by the way he looked at her that he wasn't going to be swayed. "Fine!"

"And don't say 'Fine'!"

~~~Fin~~~


End file.
